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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23035216">Time to Start Fresh</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftBubbles/pseuds/SoftBubbles'>SoftBubbles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Musketeers (2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arranged Marriage, Cute, Dating, F/M, France - Freeform, Love, Mistakes, Musketeers, Paris - Freeform, Protect, Rochefort is so creepy, Run Away, Running Away, Starting Over, Young, anne deserved better, lonely, semi-happy, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:07:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,758</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23035216</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftBubbles/pseuds/SoftBubbles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anne has been excited to turn 18 for a long time since it meant that she no longer had to live with her parents and be forced to be the perfect politician's daughter, but then they tell her she is to be a man named Rochefort's perfect political wife. So in the middle of the night, she packs a bag and runs and albeit not the smartest plan at first, it sweeps her up into a life and a group of people she couldn't imagine living without. </p><p>  So let's just hope Rochefort doesn't find her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alice Clerbeaux/Porthos du Vallon, Ana de Austria | Anne d'Autriche/Aramis | René d'Herblay, Athos | Comte de la Fère/Milady Clarick de Winter, Louis XIII de France/Milady Clarick de Winter, d'Artagnan/Constance Bonacieux</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One: Lonely</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Cast Ages (for reference):</strong>
</p><p>Anne - 18</p><p>Aramis - 25</p><p>Athos - 28</p><p>Porthos - 28</p><p>d'Artagnan - 24</p><p>Constance - 24</p><p>Rochefort - 42</p><p>Cardinal - 50</p><p>Louis - 20</p><p>Milady - 27</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Chapter One: Happy Birthday to Me!</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>  It was dark out. Really dark. But Anne had been forced to stay cooped up in this house her whole damn life, so if anyone could manage to escape without bumping into anything it'd be Anne, which is great for her, because wow, did she <em>need </em>to leave. She slowly got onto her hands and knees so she wouldn't make a sound, reached under her bed for her suitcase and backpack and ran over her plan in her head.</p><p>  Today was supposed to be a great day. Today was her 18th birthday. Today was the day her parents couldn't force her to stay. But last night's dinner is when her parents decided to inform her that she will be marrying a man named Rochefort the next day instead of celebrating. Obviously, Anne protested. A lot. But her parents were louder, scarier and knew just the words to say to make her feel like she had no choice.</p><p>  So Anne held her head as high as normal, pretending her face wasn't puffy and stained with tears, gave her parents a curt nod and excused herself to her room. Once there, she pulled out her laptop and googled her future husband, only to find that she knows him. Rochefort is the creepy, old guy, that she has caught on several occasions watching her from across the room at her parents' parties since she was <em>eleven</em>. Good thing she didn't bother cleaning herself up yet since that would've now been a clear waste of time. Further research revealed he is a fixer for some of the slimmest, most disgusting, and overall vile politicians and CEOs in the continent. He has spent the last twenty years screwing over the law and being pretty much the shittest guy on the planet, who wouldn't want to marry him?</p><p>Anne sat curled up on her bed for about an hour before she made up her mind. She <em>has </em>to get out. Now. She reached into her nightstand, pulled out a notebook and began to make a plan:</p><ul>
<li>Find a suitcase</li>
<li>Find a backpack</li>
<li>Pack the bare minimum of clothes (two t-shirts, one pair of jeans, two skirts, a dress, 3 pairs of pyjamas, seven sets of underwear, two pairs of shoes) into the suitcase</li>
<li>Toiletries into one of the travel bags from my last trip</li>
<li>The bare minimum of makeup (one lipstick, mascara, brow liner)</li>
<li>Two books, phone, laptop, chargers, headphones</li>
<li>Put all jewelry and other expensive gifts into backpack (to sell)</li>
<li>Sneak into parent's study and collect all of my personal papers (i.e. birth certificate)</li>
<li>Shower</li>
<li>Go to sleep</li>
<li>Wake up at 4:00 am</li>
<li>Go out the window</li>
<li>Try to get to the train station A.S.A.P</li>
<li>Get on the soonest train</li>
<li>Sell expensive things</li>
<li>Open up a private bank account</li>
<li>Book a hotel</li>
<li>Get a Job</li>
<li>Be happy</li>
</ul><p>  Anne lept off the bed and did items one through nine in about two hours, but number ten, going to sleep seemed impossible. Her mind kept racing. Will she get away with it? Will she be free? Will she be found? Will her family hate her? Will she be happy? Will she make friends? That last one may seem a little silly in comparison to the others, but she's never had the opportunity to truly befriend anyone. Sure, she gets along with her siblings, and when she went to school she was able to tolerate all the snotty, rich kids her parents made her socialize with, but she's never connected with anyone. She's always felt alone.</p><p>  Eventually, her thoughts tired her out, and she awoke again at 4 as planned. Her bedroom was on the opposite end of the house from where her parents are, but she couldn't help herself from moving extremely slow - just in case. Anne slipped out from under her covers and slowly placed her feet on the ground. She had laid out the clothes she wanted to wear on the train the night before, a deep blue sweater dress (that feels like she's been wrapped up in the most comfortable blanket in the world when she's wearing it (just because she's selling most of her expensive things doesn't mean she wants to give it <em>all </em>up)), black tights and simple and small black heeled boots. </p><p>  It took her about ten minutes to change and grab everything she needed (suitcase, backpack, her credit card - which she will only use once, the papers she took from her parents' study), and then when she turned to face the window, ready to escape and finally be free, it hit her: she was running away. She was running away from every single thing she knows. <em>Everyone </em>she knows. Anne never thought she could be lonelier, but nothing is impossible.</p><p>  Luckily, adrenaline took charge and blurred the next half hour together, from her and her luggage exiting the window, to Anne running a little more than necessary all the way up the street to catch a taxi to the train station. She didn't really calm down until after she bought her ticket and sat in the waiting area.</p><p>  Anne had gotten lucky with the fact that the train to Madrid still had seats to fill, but the fact that the duration of the ride is 9 hours and 45 minutes. But it's not like she has anything pressing to attend to. Glancing at the clock, she had about ten minutes until she had to board, so she took the time to plug in her headphones and relax. Anne thought about not bringing any electronics at all since they can be tracked, but then she remembered that even if her parents did track her, they can't force her to go back with them because she is officially an adult. So they can't do shit.</p><p>  Time passed quickly, and she boarded the train. It was surprisingly empty - it was just her a group of four people who were sitting farther on than she was. The group looked at her when she entered but quickly went back into their previous conversation. Anne sat down in her seat and admired the view or at least what she could see of it at five in the morning.</p><p>  She fell asleep and woke up again a few hours later. The sun was out, and the group of people are still talking just as adamantly as they were when she fell asleep. An attendant came by with a cart of food, and Anne took out the last of her money to buy a cup of tea and a slice of toast. She thought she had put a lot of time and thought into her plan, but when she realized she just completely forgot about something as basic as food, the thought of what else could've she forgotten crossed her mind. </p><p>  Then it overwhelmed her mind.</p><p>  Anne sat there, quietly sipping her tea and nibbling at her toast, as she realized how fucking insane this all is. How fucking insane she must be to be doing it. She felt her face warm-up and her eyes begin to water, but she focused on the ground in front of her until it stopped. And it did stop. But not just the heat on her face and the tears threatening to stream down it, but the <em>train</em>. The <em>train stopped.</em> Dead in its tracks, halfway to Paris.</p><p>  She whipped her head up and looked around, looking for any signals of what just happened. The group ahead of her seemed just as confused, even looking at her briefly to see if she knew. The intercom soon came on and announced that they were experiencing some difficulties but that they should be up and running within the hour, which relieved some of the tension in the air.</p><p>  Anne pulled out her phone to check the time, which was 10:34 a.m., but she didn't take much notice to it as she did the twenty-four missed calls and seventy-two unread texts that made her glad she thought to put her phone on silent. She started listening to the voicemails first, her parents alternating from worry and rage, her younger brother Philip consisting only of worry and confusion and one from Rochefort, in which he spoke in such an oily, disturbingly calm way that she stopped listening halfway through. She read through the texts too, which were basically the same as the phone calls, and only responded to the one's from her siblings by telling them she is okay and she will explain later, but they have nothing to worry about.</p><p>  They are another thing that slipped her mind these past few hours. She shouldn't have left them there, but if she had taken them she would've been charged with kidnapping and sent to jail. But Philip is only four years her junior, and her parents have always liked him more so maybe they will be nicer to him and he can visit her in Paris someday - if she decides to stay there.</p><p>  Staying there. Right, Anne thought, time to find my new home.</p><p>  She couldn't book a hotel room or find an apartment before she got a credit card, and she can't get a credit card until she has money and she won't have money until she pawns off her jewelry. Pulling out her laptop, she found a pawn shop that was about a two-minute walk from the station, then there was a bank half-a-block away. The farthest thing was the hotel, but it was still a distance she could walk and if not she could always get in a taxi or use a bus. Side note: Anne better learn how to get in a taxi or use a bus.</p><p>  It'd been about ten minutes since the train stopped and there was no sign of moving and Anne thought about getting up to ask to see how much longer it would be because if they're too late the places she needs to go to will be long closed and she may have to sleep on a bench, but then a loud crash came from upfront so she thought it might be best to wait. Then she decided it was definitely best to wait to ask when men with guns came barging in.</p><p>  The group of gunmen forced everyone out of the car along with their stuff outside next to the tracks. They started going to the group of people's things first, clearly looking for something specific, but the people who sat on the train with her didn't seem scared. Surprised by what's happening, but not scared. But then again maybe it's because they weren't the ones that were being stared at like they are a chocolate fountain at a children's birthday party.</p><p>  One of them had gone up behind her and had placed one hand on her waist and the other around the handle of the gun pressed against the side of her head.</p><p>"And here we thought that damn book was going to be the most precious thing we found here." His voice was greasy like Rochefort's, but his lacked the superiority Rochefort carried in his, but the gun against her head and the hand that was trailing to places on her that made her want to cry definitely made up for the lost creepiness in his voice.</p><p>His friends quickly found the 'damn book' and started to walk over to them - clearly wanting to join in, but the men from the train seemed to disagree. They came at them from behind and although they did not have any weapons themselves and the ratio of good guys to bad guys was one to five, they managed to quickly disarm most of their opponents. The man behind her almost seemed like he was going to go help them. <em>Almost</em> because then he realized he still had an advantage.</p><p>"Back off, or I'll shoot!" The fight that had broken out around them stilled when they heard the man behind her, each of them trying to figure what's to happen next. But Anne doesn't want to wait. </p><p>  The gun was no longer right up against her head and the hand on her waist definitely wasn't there to keep her from moving. Anne slammed her head back into his, so the bullet flew by her head instead of into it. He fell to the ground and raised his gun at her face.</p><p>"Fucking whore!" Anne had spent a total of seven hours of her life free, but she'd rather only have had that than have spent the rest of her life married to Rochefort. </p><p>  Anne squeezed her eyes shut. The sound of a shot rang out in the air.</p><p>  She's heard that you go numb from the shock of being shot but she felt like she'd been tackled to the ground. Anne's pale blue eyes involuntarily shot open to meet deep brown ones. Turns out, she actually <em>was</em> tackled. Had she not been in shock, she would've probably admired his well-trimmed beard and how his incredibly fluffy hair made her feel a little insecure about her own and she would've thought about how he could be a model. But she was too much in shock to think about anything else than the fact that she is alive.</p><p>"It's okay, I've got you." His voice was as soft as a cloud and the heat from his body warmed her up from the constant chills she was feeling a minute ago. Cool.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two: Hope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>  The fight continued around Anne and the unknown man, so shortly after helping her to her feet another man started throwing punches at him and he had to rejoin the fight, even though it seemed like he wanted to help Anne get further away than a few inches.</p><p>  No matter, Anne thought confidently to herself, If I couldn't walk a few feet by myself I never would've made it this far.</p><p>  She managed to rush through a few gaps that opened up and made it back closer to where their stuff was long-forgotten. Anne fell onto her knees and quickly opened up her bag to make sure no damages were done to her laptop, phone or future-money-makers and thankfully as far she could see there were none.</p><p>  As her heart stopped beating as violently as it previously was, she took a moment to admire the area around them. The grass was bright green and long enough that it almost hid the various wildflowers poking up through it, the mountains to her back were so high that the only way to admire them without hurting her neck would be to lay on her back and the day had begun to heat so progressively that after making sure no one was looking her way, Anne slipped off her tights and replaced her heeled boots for flats.</p><p>  But other than update her outfit, Anne didn't really know what to do now. She couldn't fight as no matter what she told herself to boost her confidence, that whole thing before was just an adrenaline-induced fluke, and it's not like she knew how to conduct the train to get them out of here. Wait. Control the train. Where are the conductor and the attendant? </p><p>  Zipping up her backpack, Anne did a sort of a half-jog to the train. The door had been left open, but she knew it wasn't their car she wanted to look at as shortly before they were ushered out, she heard a crash from upfront. She pulled at the heavy, metal door for about ten seconds until it occurred to her to push, but after that turned out to be pointless she realized it must be locked. </p><p>  Anne stood on her toes and tried to glance through the small window on the door to see if she could spot anything but the angle she was at made it so she could only see straight through to the other side where the windshield was. Great, rendered useless again. Or maybe not?</p><p>  She ran back outside and fished around in her bag for a second until her small fingers wrapped around something much smaller before heading back. Although Anne had always tried her best to be as obedient as possible, her parents often called for the impossible and locked her in her room as punishment. Her room had an attached bathroom and a maid or her governess would bring her food, so it wasn't much of a punishment, but she did still occasionally pick the lock - sometimes to gather some more food, sometimes to check on her siblings - but nevertheless she wasn't inexperienced.</p><p>  She slid lower down and blocked out the sounds from the fight outside and within a minute swung open the door. Rolling back onto her heels before standing up, Anne gave herself a small high-five - and then realized how lame that must look and took it back - before entering. </p><p>  Anne didn't have to scan over the room for long until she saw the conductor and the attendant tied up and unconscious under the controls. Their hands and feet were bound together with rope, but their mouths were left untied, presumably because they thought that there would be no one for them to call for when they woke up. Anne bent down and tried to untie the rope but then decided it'd be a lot quicker if she just got a knife from the kitchen.</p><p>  The kitchen was on the other end and was thankfully not locked up, but the small amount of joy she felt from that was diminished when she realized that all the empty wine and beer bottles lining the sink were drunken by the men whose outcome in battle pretty much determines her fate. </p><p>  Anne grabbed a butcher's knife from the drawer, the presence of which made her question what the hell is on this menu that a very-low budget train would need such a knife, before running back upfront. </p><p>  Luckily, the pair had woken up. Unluckily, they saw Anne run up to them with a knife and are now very scared of her, and although she can understand the fear of the knife, most would probably lose that fear after seeing that the person holding it could probably pass for a pre-teen if they wanted to.</p><p>"Oh! Sorry! I'm, not uh..." Despite the fact that being confused for a psycho train-robber is very a common occurrence for most people, it hadn't happened to Anne before, so she was at a bit of a loss for words. "The knife isn't here to, I mean <em>I'm</em> not here to kill you. I just want to untie you, and my parents wouldn't let me join girl scouts so I had to go to the kitchen and get a knife. Then I ran because I realized our fate is in the hands of people who are quite possibly trashed right now, so I just... You get the point, right?" The two nodded quickly and turned a little bit more so she had a better angle to work at.</p><p>  A few minutes passed and they were free (they also had several knicks from the knife on their skin, but they didn't seem to mind too much), but they stayed on the train while Anne got off to scan the field to catch sight of the battle, but she couldn't see a thing. Thinking that the possibly drunk men lost and that they were taken away along with their stuff, she ran to go see if she had lost her things too (not in a selfish "I only care about my things" kind of way, but it was all she owned at the moment), only to find the four men lounging in the grass, relaxing and revelling in their victory.</p><p>  The one that tackled Anne bounced up onto his feet and made his way over to her with a very charming smile spread across his well-built face. </p><p>"Ah, I was getting a bit worried that you had run off before I had the chance to apologize!" Tearing her focus from his face to his words, she realized that unlike her, the conductor and the attendant, this man spoke French instead of Spanish, a fact of which she usually would've picked up on (for obvious reasons) before when he spoke to her briefly, but her mind was a bit too muddled then. </p><p>  "Apologize?" It took Anne a moment to reply - it had been quite a while since her French lessons, "What for?"</p><p>  "Well I am not sure about you, but I was always told it was rude to tackle people."</p><p>  "Well <em>I </em>am not sure about you, but I was always told to be grateful when someone saves your life." She only noticed the slight trace of concern within his smile as it left, but to ensure that it didn't return Anne displayed a smile of her own - albeit not as bright, but a smile nonetheless.</p><p>  They all stayed in the field for another two minutes or so, Anne introduced herself and learned that the man's name is Aramis, to which his friends followed up by telling her their names as well (Athos - fancy and depressed, d'Artagnan - excitable and quick-tempered and Porthos - funny and relaxed), but the attendant soon came over and told them that the train was ready to go, and she separated from the group to go to her seat.</p><p>  They had about three hours left to go until Paris, which gave her plenty of time to get what she wants done, and she let out a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders from the tensions she most likely has had since she left her house. Or rather, her parents' house as it is thankfully no longer her home. </p><p>  Anne caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window and saw something on her face she's never had before: hope.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two: Hola France, Au Revoir Spain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>   It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived in Paris. The station was large, bright and very overcrowded. Anne dodged and weaved around various Parisians and tourists, keeping a careful eye on her own possessions. When she finally makes it out the doors, Anne welcomes the quieter surroundings, even though the quiet was still quite loud. Anne had written out the directions she needed on her notepad and was soon at the pawn shop she was looking for.</p><p>   The owner was what you'd expect from a pawn shop owner, gray hair with little round glasses. He noticed her as soon as she walked in, and gave her a wonky smile as he welcomed her in.</p><p>   "Ah, welcome! How may I help you, miss? Hmm? We have quite the selection of antique jewelry, clothes, furniture and knick-knacks if you're interested." Anne shook her head with a smile and opened up her backpack, revealing it's sparkly contents. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and went through the items one by one, grabbing a nearby calculator to add up the numbers.</p><p>   "This... is quite the selection you have."</p><p>   "I was cleaning out my room and found some things I didn't want." At that moment, it crossed her mind of how suspicious she must look but hopefully that doesn't really matter much to him.</p><p>   "Well, for this, I can probably give you about... 80000€. Is that okay?" Anne took a second to think. The amount she'd need to stay at the hotel she chose for a night is about 150€, and the running rate for a one-room apartment in Paris is 1000€. So, taking away 1000€ for other necessities, she could last quite a while before she got a job. </p><p>   " ...Yes. That's great. Thank you."  He took away the jewelry, and a few minutes later had all the cash, which Anne took happily before heading off to the bank to open her own account.</p><p>   The bank was large but sleek, and in some ways, that description matched the teller she spoke to as well. She had a dark, black bob and a wrinkle-free white blouse with a small, silver necklace just barely visible underneath it. Anne spoke with her for about five minutes or so, before being lead to one of the offices in the back, where she stayed for half an hour. </p><p>   Anne felt great when she headed back to the main area, very conscious and happy of the rectangular piece of plastic in her bag. She's always viewed banks as such a dull, dreary place but right now it's right up there with Disneyland. </p><p>   Anne made her way through the streets and eventually could see the tall stone pillars of her hotel. Lugging her suitcase up the steps, she quickly got herself a room for three days - a double bed on the second floor, overlooking the lovely parking lot. </p><p>   The room was plain and emotionless, with white walls boring from the lack of anything to decorate them, beige carpeted floors and although she craved to curl up under the comforter on the bed, the mattress clearly wasn't the absolute highest of quality and most likely give her a little bit of pain come morning. </p><p>   The deep blue of her suitcase contrasted with the plain colours of her surroundings as she placed it on the bed and began to sort her things into the room. Within time, the room, although still dull, was a bit more colourful with her things all across the room. </p><p>   There was a desk in the corner of the room where she had placed her laptop and her notepad, so she could start working as soon as she could. First and foremost, she should find an apartment, as with the money she made from the pawnshop she could go quite a while without working.</p><p>   Anne researched and scrolled for an hour and a half before she found three possible apartments she could live in. The first was actually just outside of Paris, and she could live alone, but apparently the crime in that certain area was actually quite bad, and she knows that she won't be able to do what she did earlier every day, so that's going to be put as the last resort.</p><p>   The second place is in the city and she'd have a roommate, and although the place is nice with beautiful views and lots of space, it seems like her possible roomie is kind of an asshole but she could probably live with that.</p><p>   In the third place, she is only renting a room at a house run by a woman called Constance Bonacieux and her husband. They have one other renter, and as long as she is quiet and respectful, she can there for quite a reasonable price and have breakfast made for her by Mrs. Bonacieux. This seems like the front runner.</p><p>   This left Anne with two options, accept this room now or wait to see if something better comes up but risk the chance of this going away. She gave herself an hour to relax and watch a show while she thought, and by the end, she realized she was done with risks today and called the Bonacieux's.</p><p>   A woman answered the phone, presumably Mrs. Bonacieux, and was more than happy to ask all the questions Anne had written down on her notepad. They decided that tomorrow Anne would come by around noon and Mrs. Bonacieux would show her around the house and the area (as it came up that Anne was from an entirely different country and didn't know much about Paris). They hung up after about fifteen minutes and Anne immediately went to set an alarm for herself to wake up at six so she'd be ready.</p><p>   Anne went back onto her bed to continue watching t.v. and to text her siblings, informing them that she is doing okay and asking them about how things were at home. Her parents were obviously freaking out, and apparently Rochefort had come by that day and had a screaming match with her parents which made her uneasy. Why does he care so much?</p><p>   She finished off her day by ordering room service and changing into her pyjamas, choosing to put off the job hunt for a day that hasn't been as stressful as this one has proven itself to be. Anne fell asleep just after ten, with a small smile reflecting on the well-earned dreams she had that night.</p>
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